Gujarat's tribal belt, a bastion of Congress that BJP striving hard to conquer

Elections to the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases next month

The tribal belt in eastern Gujarat having 27 of the Assembly seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (SC) community is the only region in the State where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not tasted much electoral success so far as the Congress continues to remain a dominant force there despite losing ground elsewhere.

But now the BJP, which has been ruling the State for more than two decades after winning six Assembly elections in a row since 1995, feels that in the next month's State elections, it can win at least 20 out of these 27 seats as the tribal population wants development and also given Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity.

The ruling party says the Congress's poll campaign has been lacklustre this time and that the entry of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would divide the grand old party's votes.

The Congress, however, is of the view that the tribal population would continue to vote for it this time as well since they remember the "good work" done by the erstwhile party-led governments for the community's uplift.

Political observers claim the Congress will remain a dominant force in the tribal region although it is in a weak position elsewhere in the State.

As per the 2011 census, tribal population in Gujarat was 89.17 lakh, around 15% of its total population. The members of the community are largely spread across 14 eastern districts of the state. The tribal population is concentrated in 48 talukas.

Elections to the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases next month - on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will take place on December 8.